Monster Rancher 2
Monster Rancher 2 is a ranching sim video game, developed by Tecmo, Inc. The game is a sequel to the video game Monster Rancher, and is the second installment in the Monster Rancher series. Released in Japan on February 25, 1999 and on September 4, 1999 in North America, it was one of the most popular of the series. "Plot" Monster Rancher 2, like the majority of the other games in the series, follows the story of a yet-to-be-named aspiring monster breeder. The breeder is introduced to the trainer assistant, in this case, Colt, who helps the breeder by offering support and guidance along the way. In Monster Rancher 2, in contrast with the original game, takes place in IMA (the International Monster Association), whereas Monster Rancher 1 is set in FIMBA, the Fraternal International Monster Breeders' Association. The breeder obtains his first monster in one of two ways: from the market, containing a Zuum, a Mocchi, and a seasonal monster, or from the shrine, where the breeder inserts his discs from home, from which a monster will be regenerated. After the breeder receives his first monster, much of the game is open-ended. The breeder chooses his own training style, what tournaments to enter, whether or not to send monsters on errantry, etc. However, the general goal of the game is to beat the ten breeder ranks, and achieve the rank of master. Major Characters Colt - The breeder's trainer assistant; scored a 92/100 on the breeder exam. Colt is very helpful, despite her overzealous and uncompromising ways. She was taught the ways of monster breeding by Master Pabs, the best trainer in IMA. However, Colt does not seem to harbor as much respect for him as one would think, as demonstrated when the breeder unlocks Metalners and Jokers. Pabs - Colt's former master. Pabs is the top-ranking breeder in IMA, and raised the most powerful monster in IMA, Most, a White Mocchi. Although he is very old and appears to be somewhat wise, he can also be very naive and overzealous, most visibly during the incidents with the Jokers and Metalners, respectively. Aunt Verde - Shopkeeper, and seemingly an old friend of Pabs'. She frequently offers discounts, particularly when the breeder increases their rank. She is a key factor in unlocking the Durahan. Talico - A curious adventurer and explorer, interested in finding the "Shrine of Gods", calling upon the breeder to help. Takes the breeder exploring to the Kawrea Volcano, in search of the Shrine of Gods. He is Rovest's son, and appears to be a friend of Pabs'. Rovest - A curious adventurer and explorer, hoping to discover a new breed of monster (the Jill), calling upon the breeder to help. Takes the breeder exploring to the Torles Mountains. Talico's son. Colt appears to harbor some attraction to him. Rovest is very kind and soft-spoken. Kavaro - A curious adventurer and explorer, hoping to find treasures of a lost civilization, calling upon the breeder to help. Takes the breeder exploring to the ParePare Jungle. Kavaro is very blunt and to the point, yet attempts to be polite. Despite this fact, Colt hates him with a passion. Wyola - An outgoing, kind young girl who works at the market. She and Colt get along very well. She has little significance in the story. Dadge - Works at the lab, but doesn't seem to enjoy it. Thus, he is very grumpy and intimidating most of the time. However, he can be helpful, and sometimes attempts to be kind, though he usually fails miserably. It can also be speculated from his "speech" during the Durahan tournament that he is very shy. Chaille - Shrine priestess. Despite her high standing, she is very kind and gentle, and gets along nicely with Colt. Like Wyola, she holds little significance in the story, save for her helpfulness in unlocking the Metalner. Monsters Monster Rancher 2 has 408 total monsters, including those non-playable high-class monsters at the errantry. There are 38 main breeds; 16 are unlocked from the beginning, whilst 22 must be unlocked through in-game events. Unlocked 16 breeds are unlocked from the beginning of the game. They are: * Pixie * Colorpandora * Zuum * Arrowhead * Tiger * Hopper * Hare * Kato * Suezo * Mocchi * Gaboo * Jell * Plant * Monol * Ape * Naga Locked Breeds 22 breeds are locked at the beginning of the game. They are: * Dragon * Centaur * Beaclon * Henger * Wracky * Golem * Durahan * Baku * Gali * Zilla * Bajarl * Mew * Phoenix * Ghost * Metalner * Jill * Joker * Undine * Niton * Mock * Ducken * Worm Raising a Monster In the game, the breeder (the player) will raise one monster at a time, and compete in battles. There are ten basic types of training, including six "light drills" and four "hard drills". The light drills increase only one stat, and not decrease any. However, the hard drill will greatly increase one stat and slightly increase another, while slightly decreasing another. Training Light Drills In light drills, a monster's stat increases by a modest amount (15 stat points max). However, in light drills, fatigue increases only by 10, and stress increases by five. A rancher must be sure not to let these values, fatigue and stress, added together (stress is multiplied by two before being added) exceed 70; if they do, the monster will lose one week of its lifespan. 10+5*2=20. If a rancher trains a monster in a light drill for four weeks without feeding any items, the value will reach 80. Therefore, a rancher cannot, without consequence, train a monster in light drills for four weeks straight without using an item. NOTE: Resting can bring down stress and fatigue a considerable amount. However, it does NOT GUARUNTEE THAT THE VALUE WILL DROP TO 0! Stress is usually brought down only 5-12 points during rests; therefore, if a person trains for three weeks straight in light drills and expects the stress to drop to 0, it's impossible. Fatigue decreases by a much larger amount, but will still not always drop to 0. The six light drills are Domino, Shoot, Study, Dodge, Run, and Endure. Domino: Stat raised - Power. Description - The monster must knock down three oversized dominoes standing in a row, only striking the first in the set. Shoot: Stat raised - Skill. Description - The monster must use three stones to break three different moving targets. Study: Stat raised - Intelligience. Description - The monster must read a book (with the help of Joy, Colt's bird) and learn something from it. Dodge: Stat raised - Speed. Description - The monster must evade an oversized rock rolling down a hill. Run: Stat raised - Life. Description - The monster must run around a circular track once in order to build endurance. Endure: Stat raised - Defense. Description - The monster must walk across a room in which three long poles will slam them into the wall. If they walk through all three, they have successfully completed the training. Hard Drills There are four hard drills. In this case, the fatigue increases by 15, and the stress increases by 12. 15+12*2=39. 39*2=78. Therefore, a trainer cannot train for two weeks straight in a hard drill without using an item. The four hard drills are Pull, Leap, Meditate, and Swim. NOTE: There is a bug in the swim drill. Essentially, the monster will perform much differently than they would in the endure drill, and will perform more similarly to the run drill. Pull: Stat(s) raised and dropped - Power (greatly), Life (slightly); Speed. Description - The monster has to pull a heavy load up a steep hill. Leap: Stat(s) raised and dropped - Speed (greatly), Intelligience (slightly); Power. Description - There are three platforms which rise and fall constantly. The monster must jump onto each one without falling into the abyss below. Meditate: Stat(s) raised and dropped - Intelligience (greatly), Skill (slightly); Defense. Description - In a calm space, the monster must successfully meditate. Swim: Stat(s) raised and dropped - Defense (greatly), Life (slightly); Intelligience. Description - The monster must swim against the current in a narrow, circular "river" of water. Errantry Occasionally, a breeder may choose to send their monster on an errantry, usually to learn a new technique. The errantry costs 2,000G, with the exception of special sales, when it costs only 1,000G. There are five different errantries which correspond with five different stats and five different types of techniques; Life is raised as a sub-stat in each of the errantries. There are five errantry locations: The Papas Mountains, the Mandy Desert, the ParePare Jungle, the Torble Sea, and the Kawrea Volcano. NOTE: The Kawrea Volcano is available only to those monsters who are B-Class or higher. Papas: Stat raised - Speed. Technique type - "Sharp" (Critical) Grade Restrictions - None. Mandy: Stat raised - Power. Technique type - "Heavy" (Most Damaging) Grade Restrictions - None. ParePare: Stat raised - Intelligience. Technique type - "Withering" (Guts damaging) Grade Restrictions - None. Torble Sea: Stat raised - Skill. Technique type - "Hit" (Most accurate) Grade Restrictions - None. Kawrea: Stat raised - Defense. Technique type - "Special" (Chained techniques, draining, healing, most powerful, etc.) Grade Restrictions - B-Class or higher. Play Occasionally, a monster may ask to play with his breeder. However, this type of "training" does not increase any stats, and has not yet been proven to reduce or increase stress and fatigue. Battles After training a monster to be comparable or better than their rank, a breeder will often send their monsters to battle, and win prize money and/or a special item (though not always). In this mode, the monster faces off against other monsters in their rank, in a one-on-one fight (which is pretty straightforward). When the rank becomes to easy for the monster, the breeder may choose to enter their monster in the "Official Cup". If they win, they are promoted to the next rank. There are six ranks: E, D, C, B, A, and S. A monster always starts at Rank E. When a monster has won the S-Rank Official Cup, they will be invited to participate in the "Major 4" tournaments. These are elite tournaments in which the best monsters fight against each other. If a monster wins all four of these, they will be invited to participate in the "Legend Cup", where they will fight one of two monsters: Poritoka, the most powerful monster in FIMBA, raised by Tesca, who fights in odd years, and Most, the most powerful in IMA, fighting in even years. If a monster wins this tournament, they are granted a spot in the Monster Hall of Fame. NOTE: Poritoka is NOT truly the strongest monster in FIMBA. The strongest in FIMBA is a Gali named Akirel, whom the breeder will randomly meet in the S-Rank IMA vs. FIMBA tournament. Akirel is the most powerful computer-raised monster in existence, with a stat acquisition of 5,014. He is followed by Hammed, with a stat acquisition of 4,814. Most comes in third. Critical Reception IGN gave the video game a score of 8.8, noting its "lasting appeal" and "gameplay". However, the same review stated that the graphics lacked, although the monster animation was very nice. Game Revolution gave the game a "B" rating, noting that, despite lots of breeds and the "disc stone" method of regeneration, that gameplay is repetitive, and the graphics are terrible. External Links http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/monster-rancher-2 http://psx.ign.com/articles/161/161227p1.html http://www.monster-rancher.com/discus/index.html Category:Monster Rancher 2 Category:Gameplay Category:Characters Category:Real World